How to Be a Happy Innovator

by Arlen Meyers

Patricia Hempl has written The Art of the Wasted Day.In it, she posits that the founding fathers didn’t do us a favor when they charged us with the pursuit of happiness. Psychologists, authors and philosophers, you see, have been telling us for 2000 years that the first and most important key to finding happiness may be the most difficult for many people (especially those reading this article):To find happiness you must not seek it!In other words, the more you try to find happiness, the more it will elude you. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) said it best, “Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity under conditions of uncertainty with the goal of creating user defined value through the deployment of innovation. Entrepreneurs do it for many reasons. However, if you think the pursuit of opportunity is a way to find happiness, you will be disappointed if you are doing it the wrong way and for the wrong reasons.Practicing some intentional behaviors may help happiness find you:

Sense of Purpose. Commonly people believe that a life of leisure provides happiness. They believe that if they had plenty of money, didn’t need to work and could play all day, they would be happy. And yet studies of truly happy people show that they often have a high commitment to goals and a sense of purpose driving their lives.

Affiliation and Service to Others. Our relationships to others is a strong factor in overall level of happiness. As Epicurus stated over 2000 years ago “Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.” However, the way that we affiliate may differ according to personality style. Outgoing individuals may be more interactive with many people, whereas introverted folks may be content with one or two relationships. Some people may find sense of purpose in their service to others whereas others are content with socializing.

Philosophical Perspective. How we frame the world and our experiences within it influence our degree of happiness. Those who tend to be more optimistic about creating positive outcomes are more likely to engage in active problem-solving and to be more content. However, this does not mean being unrealistic in assessing outcomes which can be detrimental (as discussed below in the section on emotional tolerance). Innovation starts with the right mindset.

Resilience: Most problems are worsened by the inability to tolerate emotions.

Self-Contentment. Research shows that happier people tend to have greater self-confidence and belief in their abilities. People become entrepreneurs because they think they can do things better than others and they don’t want to work for someone else. Success does not lead to happiness. Happiness leads to success.

Choice. Happier people believe not only generally in their ability to control their experience in life but also specifically in their ability to choose to be happy. “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times (Aeschylus, 525-456BC).” The single biggest reason for job stress and burnout is the lack of control. You choose whether or not to regain that control.

Health Behaviors. Researchers find as important as personality variables are to happiness, health behaviors are of even greater importance.